


And then there were Two

by Tsuki_Amano



Series: Steve Rogers Guide to Superheroes [11]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Non-Serum Steve Rogers/Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes | Shrinkyclinks, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, get-together, shrinkyclinks, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-10 23:22:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7865488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsuki_Amano/pseuds/Tsuki_Amano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are a lot of things that Bucky Barnes expects when he walks into his favourite coffee shop on a Monday morning. He doesn’t expect to see Pietro crouched next to Steve who’s seated slumped over, with his hands clutching his inhaler. </p><p>Understandably, he's more than a little thrown by this recent change in events.</p><p>Or the continuation of the Superhero AU that no-one asked for. Featuring Bucky Barnes the superhero and his not-so-clueless boyfriend Steve who'll fight you if you look at Bucky wrong.<br/>Featuring the explanation of how the Winter Soldier came to live together with one Steve Rogers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And then there were Two

**Author's Note:**

> These are sort of fillers because I've been trying to flesh out the arc a bit and I realized some of the details were a bit iffy.

There are a lot of things that Bucky Barnes expects when he walks into his favourite coffee shop on a Monday morning. He expects to see Clint standing near the counter, nursing his cup of black coffee, warding off what he calls ‘ ** _The Hangover of the Weekend That’s Passed_** ’. He expects to see Pietro watching Clint warily as he attempts to make sure that the man doesn’t knock over their display case again. He also expects to see Pietro discreetly pack some cupcakes away in a bag for Clint when he thinks no one’s looking.

And more than anything, he expects ( _alright, he looks forward_ ) to see Steve at the cashier, cheerfully taking orders, with only the faintest facial tics giving away his irritation at the strange drinks people often seemed to request.

He’s come to grow accustomed to the bright smile that Steve gives him when he walks through the front door, and the faintest flush of colour that dusts his cheeks, partly caused by the heat of the coffee machines behind him.

Bucky expects the rush of the early morning crowd at the shop, grabbing their coffees to ensure that they’re sufficiently caffeinated to survive the rest of the day. He expects the unhappy thrum he gets when he sees the crowd because that means he can’t talk to Steve that day. He expects the slight thrill that floods his senses when he sees Steve each morning.

What he _doesn’t_ expect is to find Clint manning the cashier. He’s given up on a cup this morning and has pulled the entire coffee pot towards him. Bucky can almost see the proverbial dark cloud hanging over his head. Some of the more regular customers give him wary looks as they pick up orders from him and he glares at them grumpily.

When he catches sight of Bucky, he nods in the direction of the back of the shop. Bucky walks through the door that reads ‘ _Employees Only_ ’.

He doesn’t expect to see Pietro crouched next to Steve who’s seated slumped over, with his hands clutching his inhaler. His face is flushed and his eyes are red and puffy making Bucky wonder what exactly he’s missed.

So far, Bucky’s more than a little surprised by the change in events.

Pietro notices the sound of the door and looks up. When he catches sight of Bucky, his face settles into something like grudging acceptance. He mutters something to Steve, who looks up and scrubs at his face. Pietro gets to his feet, squeezing Bucky’s shoulder before heading out to help Clint.

“Everything ok Stevie?” Bucky asks cautiously, nudging his hip against Steve’s shoulder.

He’s a bit worried when Steve leans into Bucky’s side, instead of shoving him away like usual.

He lets his arm rest on Steve’s shoulder and Steve sighs.

“I think I may get kicked out of my apartment. I don’t think I can make the rent this month.”

“ _What_? Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“It’s just, I didn’t realise how bad it was getting. I’ve had a lot of hospital bills off late, and it’s been hard to find a roommate to live with, because no one wants to live with someone that has this many health issues you know. And Pietro’s offered, but he already has to look after Wanda too and there’s no way I can be a burden for him. I was behind on my rent last month but they gave me some leeway, but there’s no way I’ll be able to make rent this month.”

“Is it a lot? I mean, I can…”

“I don’t want anyone’s charity Bucky.”

Steve’s glare shuts him down at once and Bucky knows there’s no way he’ll accept any financial help from them.

“Ok, so that wasn’t my best plan. Is there anything else you can do?”

“Not right now. And I can’t tell my mom because she’s not doing too well herself. That’s the last thing she needs to worry about, that her perpetually ill son couldn’t make rent and got himself thrown out even though he swore he could take care of himself.” Bucky watches as he gets increasingly worked up and steps in before he makes himself sick.

He leans down and forces Steve to breathe along with him. “None of what’s been happening is your fault. If it was me, I’d have probably quit a long time ago and curled up into a ball under my blanket. We’ll think of something, I swear.”

And when Steve replies in the affirmative, in the smallest, most plaintive voice Bucky’s heard in ages, all Bucky wants to do is wrap him up and hide him away from the world.

Which is when it hits him.

“ _Stay with me_!”

And boy did that sound a lot better in his head. From the way that Steve’s staring at him as though he grew another head, it probably didn’t sound that great to him either.

“What?”

And ok, maybe he didn’t think that one through before he asked, but he’s not backing down now.

He forces himself to sound sure of what’s he saying, pretending he knows what he’s talking about.

“I’ve been looking for a roommate, well a flatmate really. Just someone to share a place with and split rent. I can’t really afford the rent on my own right now.” And that’s not entirely a lie, because ok, SHIELD pays him enough to survive but it would be nice to have a little more money so that he was a bit more comfortable.

Steve looks hesitant and Bucky’s quick to reassure him that it wouldn’t be charity. He suddenly becomes aware of just how desperate Steve is when the smaller man agrees with next to no arguments.

When Pietro hears he’s _livid_. Things have already been tense since Steve found him in the alleyway. Steve had bought his excuse that he had a run in with some unsavoury characters and had called his friends to pick him up. But Pietro was still unhappy with the situation, and Bucky can’t blame him. After all, Steve getting involved in this means he’s at a greater risk of getting hurt and unlike Bucky, he’s more likely to get seriously injured.

“Do you really think this is a good idea? I mean you barely know each other. You’re always welcome to come home with me too.”

“You’ve already got enough on your plate trying to look after Wanda and paying the bills. It’s fine, it’s just Bucky.”

He looks adorably confused, as though he can’t begin to imagine why Pietro is so unhappy with his decision to move in with Bucky. But Bucky has an idea.

When it becomes apparent that Steve’s not changing his mind, Pietro calls him to the side, his jaw set.

Out of earshot, he says, “Are you absolutely insane? I mean you’ve pulled some stupid shit before but this really takes the cake.”

“What was I supposed to do? Let him sleep on the streets?”

“I would have convinced him to stay with me. And besides, we’re friends with Tony Stark, did it ever strike you to ask him for help?”

He blinks because in all honesty it hadn’t.

“I hope you realise how much danger he’s in by living with you.”

“He’ll be fine. I’m careful, you know that. Except for the people on the team, no one knows who I am. Steve’s not going to get involved.”

“Don’t you think he’s going to notice? He’s not exactly stupid. He’s already picked up on the fact that you always get hurt at the same time as the Winter Soldier. You’re not exactly subtle about that you know. And it’s all fun and games now, but don’t forget, if he picks up your identity, it’s only a matter of time before he figures out who we are.”

“I’m not going to let that happen.”

Pietro’s unhappy, but he nods. He won’t interfere, not just yet.

The thing is, Bucky knows why Pietro’s so reluctant to let anyone get involved. The kid’s hell-bent on keeping his sister safe, no matter the cost. It had taken them a lot to escape from Sokovia and even now, Pietro doesn’t like to talk about their old life a lot. But from what Bucky can tell, they’re hiding from their family. And there’s no way that Bucky will come in the way of that, not if he can prevent it. But he also knows he can’t let something happen to Steve.

When Steve moves in, it’s a lot less dramatic than he expects. He’s got barely any luggage, and his most prized possession is his sketchbook.

“I didn’t know you were an artist.”

“I’m not, I just like to doodle sometimes.”

From the quick glimpse that Bucky’s managed to steal of his sketches, they’re more than quick doodles. But he notices how flustered Steve has become and decides not to press the issue. It’s been hard on him, having to move so quickly. There weren’t too many people for him to say good bye to, but he had stopped by at one neighbour’s apartment, a little old lady named Peggy, who’d hugged him tightly when he said he was leaving. She’d made him promise to come visit her soon and had fixed Bucky with a stern glare and made him promise to look after Steve.

Things are quiet in his apartment. He’d cleaned the spare bedroom and vacuumed so he wouldn’t accidentally set off Steve’s asthma. For the first few days, it’s almost unspeakably awkward, with the pair barely talking to each other.

They bump into each other occasionally, but aside from a quick greeting, the pair rarely talk.

It’s a week before he decides to put an end to it. He orders Chinese take-out and waits at the dining table till Steve shows up, in an old t-shirt and pyjama bottoms.

Bucky lifts up the bag and beams at Steve, telling him they’re having a movie night. He feels bad about almost manhandling the other man into it, but by the end of the night, things are back to normal between them and Steve’s curled up into Bucky’s warmth watching the end of their movie. All in all, Bucky’d say his plan was a success.

He realises as the credits begin to roll that Steve’s fallen asleep at some point. He drapes a blanket around him, not wanting to disturb him and lowers the volume on the TV.

As Steve snuffles in his sleep and nuzzles Bucky’s shoulder, he smiles fondly at him.

The pair of them, they’re going to be ok.

**_*Extra Scene*_ **

_He stares at her._

_She stares right back, arching a delicately shaped eyebrow when he begins to twitch nervously._

_Finally, he cracks. “I was going to tell you,” he says sheepishly._

_“I’m sure you were.”_

_The sound of the front door opening interrupts their conversation and Bucky nervously chews his lip when Steve walks in, stopping still when he sees Natasha at the table._

_“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know we had company.” He says, smiling politely at her._

_Natasha slips on her most cheerful smile and says, “That’s perfectly fine! I stopped by unannounced to visit James. My name’s Natasha, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”_

_Steve shakes her hand, but Bucky can see the hint of confusion on his face._

_“Natalia’s….er, Natasha’s an old friend.” He says quickly._

_“That’s right, James and I go back for a couple of years. Although I’m surprised we haven’t bumped into each other before this, I’m dating Bruce who I’ve heard you’ve met.”_

_She laughs when she sees his expression._

_“Yes, I heard about that. James is a bit of a hot-headed fool isn’t he?”_

_“More than a bit,” Steve says under his breath. But Natasha hears and grins at him, amused._

_“I don’t suppose you’d like to hear some of the other stories would you?”_

_Steve smiles back at her, “I would. But before that, because someone,” he glares at Bucky playfully, “Didn’t seem to get around to it, can I get you anything to eat or drink?”_

_Natasha looks surprised and to be fair Bucky is too. They’ve always sort of just lived at the other’s house and when Natasha comes over, she either brings her own alcohol or raids his cupboards for tea._

_While Steve fixes a pot of tea for them, she looks at Bucky with a smile that worries him._

_“I like him.”_

_And he knows what that grin means._

_“No, there’s nothing going on between us. So you can stop smiling at me like that.”_

_“I’m not smiling at you any differently than I normally would. And of course there’s nothing happening just yet, but give it time.”_

_As he watches the two swap stories about him, he lets his head drop to the table and he groans._

_They’re getting along so well, it’s uncanny._

**_He’s doomed._ **

* * *

I'm on tumblr! Come say [hi!](everydayindian.tumblr.com) I usually am fairly active on there (I like to reblog pictures of animals and bad puns. I'm a mess and I accept it).

 

**Author's Note:**

> I got some strange looks while working on this one because I'm working on it from a public library while waiting for someone who's late.
> 
> I've also started writing Stony (I ended up watching Avengers Assemble and it's like Steve and Tony are married, so I'll probably alternate between the two series.)
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated and helps me know where to improve!


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